Friendly Competition
by intoxicatedSquid
Summary: (Lapis/Peridot) Nothing wrong with a bit of competition between friends, right? (Might change to M if things get too wild)
1. 1: Virtual Combat

"AHHH HA!" The short green gem hops up and down on the couch cushions, brandishing her game controller proudly above her head before bringing it down gently onto Steven's soft hair. "It seems as though I have beaten you at your own game! Mmmm- AGAIN! NYEHEHEH!" Peridot exclaims jovially as she plops back down next to the young boy who exaggerates his defeat.  
"Boy Peridot, you really are getting good at this game!" He smiles at her, setting the game back to the menu screen.  
"Well of course I am Steven! Don't you know I've been practicing?" She states very matter of fact, holding her hand to her chest. A mess of blue hair emerges from behind a makeshift curtain.  
"Are you guys done using the TV yet? I want to watch the new episode of-"  
"LAZULI!" The blue gem straightens at the sudden loud exclamation followed by a green finger pointing in her direction. Peridot had perched herself on the back of the couch, a smug grin on her face. "Steven and I have commandeered the TV set for virtual combat battle training! My powerful battle robot has claimed victory over Steven's beefy flying man a total of FIVE TIMES!" She exclaims, very proud of her accomplishment as she holds out her fingers in order to emphasize just how important her victory had been. Lapis raises an eyebrow in return brushing a few stray hairs from her face.  
"Oookay. So can I use the TV or not?" Peridot laughs maniacally in return.  
"Fine. But… ONLY IF YOU CAN BEAT ME IN A GAME OF VIRTUAL COMBAT!" The blue gem shrugs, walking over to sit on the other side of Steven, who hands her his controller.  
"How do I use this?" She turns to the boy in the middle of the couch who points to each button, explaining them individually to her.  
"This one on the left side of the screen is you! If you press this button, he punches! This button does a kick and this stick here is how you move left to right on the screen! Your health bar is up in the top corner right there and if the bar is empty then Peridot wins. If Peridot's health bar is empty-"  
"Which it won't be!" Peridot interjects smugly with a raised chin and a grin, making Steven chuckle.  
"If her health bar is empty then she loses! So all you have to do is attack her character until the health bar is gone!" Lapis nods, studying the controller and the characters frozen on the screen.  
"I… think I understand." She says, testing the buttons out as Steven had instructed her to. "Why aren't they moving yet?" The boy smiles again.  
"We stopped the game so when you're both ready we can start a new battle! Peridot, are you ready?" The green gem scoffs arrogantly flicking her wrist.  
"As the master of this virtual combat game I am very much ready." She states, gripping her controller and focusing on the screen in front of them. The young boy then turns to the blue gem on his other side, who was still clicking the numerous buttons and switches on the plastic hardware.  
"Lapis?" The messy haired woman looks down at him, still playing with the new technology. "Are you ready?"  
"I guess so." She shrugs and faces the screen as Steven crawls towards the console seated on the ground beneath the TV, pressing a small button to restart the game. The screen boots on, displaying the two fighting characters in their battle stances, determined eyes swaying back and forth with the rhythm of their pixelated bodies. An announcer voice sounds from the speaker.  
"READY… FIGHT!" The two characters unfreeze from their perpetual swaying dance, finally moving to obey the orders of the two gems on the couch. A flurry of metal punches and kicks made their way across to the left side of the screen as Peridot intently pushed the buttons of her controller in rapid succession.  
"PREPARE TO MEET YOUR METAL DEATH LAZULI!" The green gem exclaims confidently as her robot character whirls around the screen, approaching the tall bird man punching clumsily at the ground. As the robot draws near, the feathered man manages to grab onto the ankles of the metal box, swinging it around twice before tossing it into the air. A left uppercut, a right hook, and a final series of kicks to the face turn the robot into a pile of scraps, an announcer calling loudly on screen as Peridot's health bar hits 0.  
"GAME!" Steven's hands slap against his cheeks in surprise, completely shocked at the blue gem's skill.  
"Lapis! That was amazing!" He turns around, raising his arms cheerfully in the air to celebrate the spectacular performance. Lapis shrugs and hands the controller back to the boy before facing Peridot. The green gem was frozen in place, her hands limp against the controller, still staring at the screen with her jaw hanging open.  
"Soooo can I use the TV now?" She asks cocking her head to the side in an attempt to get her roommate's attention. The controller drops from her green hands and she sits up straight, attempting to create a stoic expression on her face.  
"Fine. Do what you want. This game is stupid anyway." Peridot stands up and stomps off, brushing past the ragged curtain Lapis had emerged from earlier and towards the left loft of the barn. A silence hangs in the air as the blue gem looks to Steven.  
"Is she okay?" The boy rubs his chin in thought, trying to assess the situation to evaluate what might have caused the distress in the shorter gem.  
"I'm sure she's okay. I think maybe you beating her at that game so easily must have made her kinda frustrated? I'm gonna go talk-" A blue hand rests on Steven's shoulder before he can stand up. Lapis stares at the curtain door and nods to the boy.  
"I'll talk to her. We're roommates. It's… important. I don't want her to feel upset." A big smile crosses the fluffy haired boy's face as Lapis makes her way toward the messy fabric door.  
"Alright! I have to go eat dinner soon so let me know if she's feeling better!" The blue haired gem smiles and flashes him a thumbs up as the boy scampers down the loft ladder and out the large doors, closing them shut behind him. The two gems had expertly planned out their living space, establishing that the ground level of the barn was intended for the display of various collected junk they had constructed into what Lapis so fondly referred to as 'meep morp'. Their loft had been divided into two sections, the left side acting as their TV watching spot where they had watched every released season of Camp Pinning Hearts too many times to count. The ladder leading up to the right section of the loft had, turned into it's own creative sculpture so the two gems had constructed a small hallway between the two lofts towards the back of the barn, concealed by what could have once been a shower curtain. Lapis walks across the wooden boards, pulling back the second curtain door and stepping into what had turned into their own personal rooms. Their rooms had previously been the two separate loft areas before the roommates had started to grow closer to each other, after which they combined forces to make the coolest barn in the entire galaxy, thus maximizing the room capacity of every section in their new home. Peridot had gone to quite the extreme in order to create a proper place for herself to reside. She had constructed a make shift bed out of old cushions and any sort of alien related merchandise she had ever come across, with the large green plush she had won serving as a center piece for the amassed collection of tiny green men. The blue gem's room was rather plain in comparison, though the wooden floor was a challenge to locate under the various magazines, books and other interesting trinkets Lapis herself had collected over time.  
"Peridot?" Her voice was soft and concerned, a genuine worry about her as she found her roommate curled up with her beloved alien plush toy. "Are you alright…?" A quiet groan emerged from the gem's mouth, muffled by the plush fabric pressed against her face.  
"I thought you were going to use the TV? Or did you come to gloat in your lucky victory?" Lapis rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, sitting down next to her roommate on the small green bed.  
"No, and the episode can wait. Besides, I'd rather watch it with you anyway." The triangular haired gem raised her head curiously from behind the plush, looking over at her partner with a raised brow.  
"Then why are you sitting on my designated sleeping cushions?" She perked up a bit in confusion, perhaps trying to mathematically solve the answer herself the more she stared at the back of Lapis's hair. A soft sigh escapes the blue gem's lips as she stares at her own two feet resting on the floorboards beneath her.  
"Peridot?" The gem in question scoots forward closer to her friend, the large alien plush still held tightly against her chest.  
"Yes Lazuli?" Lapis fidgets with her skirt in her hands, not really having planned out this whole conversation beforehand, something she was regretting pretty hard at the moment.  
"We should um… maybe we could go to that arcade you really like? I saw they have some new laser game and I think it has a lot of those little green people you really seem to like." The blue gem turns her head towards her roommate who's eyes were already lighting up with excitement and energy.  
"Well then what are we waiting for!?" She exclaims, raising her hands and letting her toy fall onto the sheets behind her. Lapis smiled happily. It was nice to know she could restore the boundless energy back into her best friend. She'd never admit it out loud again, as Peridot would go into a very long lecture to prove her wrong, but it was still really cute when she was so excited. "Do you think we should invite Steven and the other gems?" The green gem questions as she brushes some dust off of her uniform, planting her feet on the floor of her room.  
"Oh c'mon let's just go you and me. After all, Perl will probably give us a huge list of reasons why we shouldn't go while we could already be there." She smiles, walking into her section of the room to grab a new jacket she had recently acquired, letting her arms slip into the sleeves. Peridot snickers and grabs a bright green coat she had also picked out on their last outing, sliding into it.  
"You're so right Lapis she would do that! The crystal gems have nothing on our awesome team!" The two share a laugh, clad in their new wear and both equally excited for the outing they were about to partake in.


	2. 2: Laser Tag

The sun hadn't taken it's sweet time and was already far past the horizon, heralding in the darkness of night. Beach city was covered in a beautiful array of lights and signs that lit up the boardwalk and the stores lining it. Blue hands burrowed into the deep pockets of the black satin jacket, taking in all the bustling people, each preoccupied with their own needs. Her eyes eventually wandered back to the path in front of her to see the familiar triangular hair bouncing eagerly at the entrance of their colourful destination. A brightly lit sign flashed on and off, welcoming the local patrons inside to the gallery of various machines, noises, snacks and music.  
"COME ON LAPIS! YOU'RE SO SLOW! I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE FLOWN HERE!" The blue haired girl chuckles to herself as her feet pick up a quicker pace against the boardwalk below, following in her roommate's wake. Entering the building they were both immediately greeted with rows of a variety of neon colored flashing arcade cabinets, claw machines, ball toss games and the ever so popular Dance Dance Resolution. There was something they both hadn't seen before though. A large black room had been added recently towards the back of the building and was covered in green lights and intergalactic decor. The blue gem feels a tug at the sleeve of her new jacket and looks down.  
"Is that where they keep the laser technology?" Lapis smiles and nods, making Peridot scoff and cross her arms. "Earthlings are so strange. Why would they allow the general public access to military grade weapons?" The blue gem shrugs and walks towards the mysterious black room.  
"Only one way to find out." Peridot holds her finger out to respond, trying to come up with some kind of counter point which she fails in doing. The triangular haired gem scurries to catch up to her roommate who had already managed to make her way towards the back counter guarding the arsenal. It was difficult to see over the large obstruction so Peridot tapped her foot as her partner conversed with the man behind it. After a short period of time a piece of the counter clicked open, revealing itself to be a door behind the obstacle. Lapis gestures for her companion to accompany her through the door, following the man leading them both towards the large room.  
"What did he say?" Peridot whispers to her friend, using her hand to direct her voice in the blue haired girl's direction.  
"Uh I just sorta asked if we could go in and he said 'sure thing'." The green haired gem was taken aback by this bafflingly simple solution. She was sure there would have definitely needed to be some serious convincing to do for them to gain access to something so secure. The two gems were lead into a dark room, lined with holsters carrying special vests with numerous boxes on specific sections. A medium sized cord held a heavy plastic replica firearm which displayed a counter on it's face.  
"What is this?" Peridot asks, extremely skeptical of the competence of this establishment. The lanky young man adjusts his red cap against his messy hair with a chuckle.  
"I guess you've never been to laser tag before, huh kid? Mr. Smiley finally took my suggestion and invested in this here project! All this stuff is brand new, state of the art and all that too!" The green gem selects a vest to suit her, feeling it fall heavily against her shoulders as she scoffs, mumbling to herself about the primitive technology being even remotely considered state of the art. "Basically whatcha gotta do is use that there toy gun to shoot at the little target boxes on the opposite team's vests. Easy as pie if you ask me! I already got another couple on the other team's room so you girls are just in luck!" The two gems look at each other, both clad in their new battle gear, clumsily brandishing their plastic weapons.  
"Are we both on the same team then?" The messy haired gem questions, earning a nod from the scruffy man. Peridot struggles to contain her excitement, fumbling with the new technology to figure out how to operate it properly. Lapis and Peridot are guided through another door into a vast dark room, decorated in even more interplanetary themed items and glowing lights. A series of large plastic fake rocks covered the place, separating each team with their subtle color difference of red or green. Luckily for the green gem she had ended up getting the team of her favorite color. Suddenly a buzzer sounds in the dark room, startling the two roommates, their vests and weapons lighting up to signify the start of the game. Two male human voices could be heard conversing from the other side of the obstacle course, presumably belonging to the opposing team.  
"What's the plan?" Peridot looks up at her friend's question, rubbing her chin in thought as they stand behind one of the large plastic walls covering the area.  
"I guess shoot the other team and try not to get shot in the process?" Lapis nods at the very sound plan, turning her head as she hears a shuffling sound behind their wall. Without hesitation she walks out from behind their barrier and lands a few zaps in one of the center boxes on the vest of the first young man, who doubles back in response, ducking back into the opposing base. Peridot stealthily rushes from wall to wall, rolling and crawling towards the enemy base, hoping to capture them by surprise and take all the points she could get. She peeked her head around the corner, checking her surroundings for any signs of the opposing team. The smaller gem was about to make a run for the next plastic barrier when out of nowhere a pair of blue hands pushes her against the wall, holding her shoulders still.  
"Hey Lazuli? What gives? I was about to-" A hand muffles the rest of her sentence just as a figure passes behind the two of them, completely unaware of their presence. Peridot's eyes widen, quite impressed by her teammate's foresight and her valiant gesture. She hadn't been this close to the other gem before, it felt a bit odd somehow and the smaller girl couldn't seem to figure out why.  
"You were about to get ambushed. I couldn't let that…" The messy haired girl's eyes met those of her partner, both blushing for reasons unknown to either of them. "…happen." She trails off quietly, somehow feeling all of the reality around her disappear, sharing in whatever moment they had created together. It was almost like some kind of strange magnetic force that closed in between the two of them, the blue hand falling away from Peridot's mouth and being replaced with Lapis's own lips in a soft kiss. The two heavy plastic vests knocked together as their lips met over and over again for a while. A loud buzzing sound startled Lapis away from her roommate as her vest indicated to her she had been shot in the back. The culprit peeked out from behind a corner, snickering at the girl's carelessness.  
"Get a room already!" He shouted in their direction, causing the green gem to grip her plastic weapon angrily, nailing the young man expertly with a few shots over her partner's shoulder.  
"WE ALREADY HAVE A BARN YOU CLOD!" Lapis's eyes widen at the exchange, letting out a snort and a few giggles in response to Peridot's statement. The loud buzzer sounded once again, the vests and fake guns powering down as the game ended. The blue gem pushes her hair away from her face, picking herself off the floor along with her smaller friend, both of them a bit off guard.  
"Um… did we… win?" Lapis asks as they make their way back to the exit of the room, slipping the heavy vest over her head and placing it back onto the rack they had gotten them from. Peridot shrugs, a little quieter than usual as she also returns her plastic armor to it's place.  
"I think we did pretty good. We can count it as a victory, especially after that really awesome shot I got on that clod!" She grumbles to herself, mimicking the young man's housing suggestion. "I don't understand humans." Peridot shakes her head, the gesture lost completely on Lapis who was a bit lost in thought to say the least. "We should go home and watch that new show together you'd wanted to see." She offered, smiling up at her spacey roommate.  
"That sounds great actually." Lapis responds, digging her hands into her pockets again, becoming rather fond of the soft fabric against her skin. The two make their way through the rows of machines, the blue gem following close behind her smaller companion, the street lights coming into view.


	3. 3: Gay

Their journey home was calm and quiet, much like the boardwalk had become, all the usual crowds completely absent at the late hour. It made the growing tension between them even more obvious to one another, their minds replaying the events of the past few hours vividly over and over. The distance from the arcade to their barn felt a lot longer than it usually had been, and neither could figure out exactly why, though without fail they reached their destination. Large wooden doors gave way to timid green hands and were just as quickly closed by those of blue. The ladder squeaked beneath each of them as Lapis climbed after her roommate who was already seated in her spot of the couch, switching the box on. Her partner sat opposite her on the couch as Peridot flicked through the channels, landing on their favourite. Both watched the screen, tension thickening the air and keeping the dialogue from being heard at all. The feeling weighs hard on Lapis, driving her to finally breach the silence between them.  
"Peridot I-" Without warning a pair of green arms wrap themselves around the blue gem's neck, locking them into a rough kiss. The messy haired girl's eyes widen as she falls backwards onto the couch, catching her roommate by her hips and returning the passionate gesture with her own lips. Hands explored any inch of skin they could manage to reach on the other girl, Peridot occasionally letting out a soft gasp at the feeling of Lapis's teeth tugging at her bottom lip, reciprocating the advance by slipping her tongue into the blue girl's mouth. Each new touch was immediately shown up by the other girl in some kind of clumsy competition, attempting to evoke a larger reaction out of the other than the last. Peridot suddenly jolted up as her elbow crashed into the volume control of the remote, turning the sound to a very unreasonable level. She scrambled frantically, grumbling to herself in frustration as she finally switches the TV off, Lapis snorting and giggling at the comedic scene. The green gem's face flushes as she hops off of the couch and pouts back to her room on the other side of the barn. Before she gets too far a blue hand wraps around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.  
"Thank you Peridot. We should do this again sometime." The shorter gem spins around in excitement.  
"Wait you mean the laser tag or the making out part…?" Lapis grins and winks at her.  
"How about both?"


End file.
